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Friday, January 20, 2017

OUR LADY PEACE / Clumsy (1997)

If you’ve heard Superman’s Dead, you may hate Raine Maida’s voice. If you’re not a native Canadian, it’s very possible that you’ve only ever heard Somewhere Out There. Either way, I pity you. While Raine’s lyrics ultimately became more accessible, they’re still deliciously obtuse here and remained so for some time to come. Don’t bother with OLP if you’re looking for an easy listen, on any level. If you step onto this carousel, you’d better be ready to both ferret out and self-interpret the meaning buried herein. Raine’s voice is titillating (especially on Car Crash) and his cryptic missives mingle with the boys’ chunky riff-rock to deliver some of my favorite songs of all time. The simultaneously spine-chilling and eye-moistening variety.